State shuts down York Springs assisted living facility

State police at Gettysburg also filed charges against one of the facility's co-owners.

Betty Jones, a resident of Whispering Pines Assisted Living, leaves her former home. The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare filed an emergency order Friday to remove the facility s 22 residents. (Evening Sun Photo by James Robinson)

State officials shut down operations at a York Springs assisted living facility Friday, relocating its 22 residents.

The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare issued an order to Whispering Pines Assisted Living, stating the facility posed a risk to the health and safety of its residents. The order, signed by public welfare Deputy Secretary Kevin T. Casey, stated residents should be relocated promptly and in a safe manner.

It was an emotional Friday for residents, who were uprooted from their home and moved to new locations. Emotions also ran high for staff members, and charges were filed against a co-owner by Pennsylvania State Police at Gettysburg.

Phillip Harris, of Whispering Pines Assisted Living, discusses the state Department of Public Welfare shutting down the facility. Whispering Pines had 33 alleged violations in an inspection in the spring. The department did not renew its license. The facility appealed, but that appeal was denied. (Evening Sun Photo by James Robinson)

Whispering Pines had been operating on a provisional license because of alleged violations found in past inspections. After an inspection earlier this year, which found 33 alleged violations - 12 of which were repeat violations - the department sent a letter to the facility May 1, stating it would not renew their license to operate as an assisted-living facility.

The owners appealed the decision to the department's bureau of hearings and appeals. Under department regulations, Whispering Pines was permitted to stay open through the appeal process.

The alleged violations included a resident being left behind in a fire drill, rodent feces, a faulty fire alarm, stains on towels, and logging of medication violations.

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Harris rebutted many of the allegations, saying that they had been fixed immediately, or were not legitimate violations in the first place.

But the appeal of Whispering Pines was denied Aug. 31.

After the denial, department of public welfare spokeswoman Stacey Witalec said Whispering Pines appealed directly to the secretary of public welfare. That appeal was denied. Oct. 5.

Witalec said the department issued a closure order to Whispering Pines Oct. 9.

15, the department alleges, Phillip Harris, administrator and husband of Julia Harris, said he was no longer willing to operate the facility. He refused to sign for a delivery of medications and said he would not cook for the residents, according to the department. Witalec said this prompted the Department of Public Welfare to issue an emergency order to remove residents Friday morning.

A York Springs Borough Council member, Julia Harris defended her husband against those allegations, and said he did not refuse to feed the residents or do anything he was accused of. She said he was asking questions, wondering if he could still temporarily operate after the closure order.

Phillip Harris takes pictures as Department of Public Welfare personnel work to find new homes for the residents of Whispering Pines Assisted Living in York Springs. (Evening Sun Photo by James Robinson)

Officials of several state agencies, including the Pennsylvania State Police, were on hand at Whispering Pines, and would stay there until all of the residents were relocated, Witalec said.

Witalec said they could not have successfully shut down the facility and relocated its residents without the help of the state police. She said it took the police to obtain the records of the residents.

"There are unfortunately a few providers like this one that seem to not have the best interests of the residents at heart," Witalec said. "As difficult as it may be to the residents to understand why, it's because of how this operation was being run that we had to take this action."

Resident Doris Yeater and her friend, Betty Jones, sat in their former home, wondering what they were going to do.

Yeater said the past 24 hours have been like a nightmare.

Family members arrived and helped other residents through the damp, cold morning to their cars.

Department officials were on hand to help the families of some residents pack. They threw clothes into black garbage bags.

Julia Harris said it was a sad day. The residents were like family to her, leading to an emotional day for all as they were being separated by officials and police, she said.

"I've had residents cry and tell me they don't want to leave," she said. "These people are my family. I hate to see them go."

The Harrises have been at the center of York Springs politics for some time. In June, Julia Harris said she felt their facility was being targeted by the department in part because of local politics. She said some in York Springs bombarded the department with calls, prompting the recent action.

Phillip Harris was a former auditor in the borough, and has filed a slew of lawsuits against York Springs.

"It's a witch hunt for Phil Harris," he said about the facility's closure.

He said the residents' rights were being violated by the state.

Witalec said Friday afternoon all of the residents had been relocated.

"The conditions to them may seem fine, but what's going on behind the scenes to keep the home operating is not at all safe," she said.

In some cases, she said, people often do not understand the danger until a major incident happens.

"Thankfully, that did not happen here," she said. "But we are fairly confident that someone could have been hurt if we did not get them out."

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